FLOW

“Be water, my friend” said Bruce Lee in an interview, back in 1971. And, although his words are now part of a BMW ad, this is still a wise advice, particularly for the times we live in. We are immersed in a continuous flow, a flow of information, of events, of images and messages that constantly invade our senses. Everything evolves so quickly that we frequently feel overwhelmed: even if we do our best to be aware of the latest trends, to update our knowledge and stay connected, we cannot “keep with the flow”. In this state of constant change, established concepts shatter and monolithic structures are slowly but inevitably eroded by a reality that is never the same. The only thing one can do now is “be water”, adapt and evolve, assume that we both step and do not step in the same rivers, but furthermore that we are part of what makes the river flow.

Flow also designates a mental state in which the person is fully involved in the activity he or she is doing. For an artist, this is the particular moment in which inspiration strikes, the idea becomes clear and one cannot stop until the work takes form. Paradoxically, in most cases to create means to fix what has been flowing through one’s mind, and the materials that were once fluid become solid as they integrate the finished artwork. In the digital realm, works retain most of its fluidity, as they feed from ever changing data generated by viewers or website users. But, whether digital or analogue, contemporary artworks move seamlessly from one discipline to another and present us with more questions than certainties. They mirror a reality, which is anything but stable and thus tell us in their own way what Bruce Lee once so emphatically stated, not knowing his pearl of oriental philosophy would be later used to sell cars.

From drawing and painting to interactive installations and augmented reality displays, the works included in this exhibition present different aspects of the concept of “flow”. Whether by exploring the aesthetic possibilities of representing fluids, by contemplating the flow of data in information networks, experiencing the fluidity of sound, time or space, the flow of life itself and that of the processes that take place in our environment, they form a rich landscape of contemporary creation.

Curator: Pau Waelder

PROPOSED ARTISTS This list is preliminary. Participation will depend on availability of the works and accordance of transportation costs to the budget. Mauro Ceolin (Italy) – nt art gallery, Milan Andrea Renzini (Italy) – nt art gallery, Milan Paz Alcoverro (Spain) – direct contact with artist, lives in Mallorca Clara Boj and Diego Díaz (Spain) – direct contact with artists, they live in Valencia Enric Font (Spain) – Ferrán Cano gallery, Palma Sonia Cillari (Italy) – direct contact with artist Natasha Kidd (UK) – direct contact with artist, lives in London Maria Glyka (Greece) – direct contact with artist, lives in London Andy Huntington (UK) – direct contact with artist, lives in London Katie Paterson (UK) – direct contact with artist, lives in London Bill Thompson (USA) – The Columns Gallery, Seoul Gregory Chatonsky (Canada) – direct contact with artist Peter Ruehle (Germany) – Gallery Kai Hilgemann, Berlin Koen Van den Broek (Belgium) – Gallery Figge von Rosen, Cologne Nic Hess (Switzerland) – Gallery Figge von Rosen, Cologne Haïdée Henry (France) – Gallery Figge von Rosen, Cologne Raïssa Venables (USA) – Gallery Herrman & Wagner, Berlin Peter Dreher (Germany) – Gallery Herrman & Wagner, Berlin

FLOW
Kurator: Pau Waelder

mit Mauro Ceolin, Andrea Renzini, Paz Alcoverro, Clara Boj / Diego Diaz, Enric Font, Sonia Cillari, Natasha Kidd, Maria Glyka, Andy Huntington, Katie Paterson, Bill Thompson, Gregory Chatonsky, Peter Ruehle, Koen van den Broek, Nic Hess, Haidee Henry, Raissa Venables, Peter Dreher